Day 13, 23rd April 2026 Istanbul

 


Firstly apologies as the technical glitch continues and the photos are being posted in no particular order.

Perhaps the puzzle makes it more interesting, i’m not sure..


But day 4 in Istanbul and we are heading to some other suburbs, at least its not raining and we may even see some sunshine later. 9 degrees tho. 


Made our way through the throngs of people in Sultanahmed park to the tram stop of the same name.

Buying the transport card is always a challenge but thankfully there was a human and an authorised one at that to give us a hand.

The card itself cost 130 TL and then you can load funds on to it just like an oyster card except we could buy one card and share it.


Much later we discover that today is a public holiday to celebrate National sovereignty and Childrens day.

It is incredibly busy out and about.


So we make our way from Sultanahmed station down to Eminönü, which is down on the water. 

We jumped over to the T5 that will take us down to Eyüpsultan.

Main reason being we will jump on a cable car to take us up Pierre Lotye lookout, a little disappointed as i thought it was a funicular. It does however crossover the oldest cemetery in Istanbul. 

Pierre Lotye was an artist who built a house up there. Why not, it does have a great view!


Back to our tram for a quick trip to Balat.

A vibrant and historic neighbourhood known for its colourful 19th century Ottoman houses, steep cobblestone streets and rich multi cultural heritage including Armenian, Greek, Jewish and Muslim.


We also visited a bulgarian orthodox church which is significant because made of pre fabricated iron.


Took lots of obligatory photos of the colourful houses and steep street before settling down for lunch at Köfte Buder. Great food, prices half of what we have been paying and a great crew.


Continued to wander the busy and colourful streets where Balat becomes the next suburb, Fener.

More of these fun and colourful houses and restaurants.


We decide the next part of our adventure will be on the water of the Golden Horn.

We catch the ferry from Fener, which crosses to Kasimpaşa on the other side of the estuary and we disembark at Karaköy as we can get the tram home from there.

This ferry then continues to Asia, finishing in the suburb of Üsküdar.


Super crowded train back to where we started and home.


Quiet afternoon as we consider doing some packing.


At this stage, i would like to confirm we have not bought a rug! 


We think that this has probably been the best day in istanbul, got the must see stuff done and today using local transport to see the “ non- touristy” bits. 


Dinner locally as its an early start tomorrow for our flight to Cappadocia































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